1. Field
A dishwasher and a method of controlling a dishwasher are provided, and more particularly, a dishwasher and a method of controlling a dishwasher in which it can be precisely determined whether nozzles are clogged and in which clogged nozzles can be easily cleaned.
2. Background
Dishwashers are devices for washing dishes soiled with food residues by spraying wash fluid onto the dishes. Dishwashers include a washing tub having racks for holding dishes, a fluid supply device supplying clean wash fluid to a sump disposed below the washing tub, a wash fluid spray device spraying the wash fluid supplied into the sump toward the racks so as to clean the dishes, and a drain device discharging waste wash fluid resulting from the washing of the dishes. The wash fluid spray device includes nozzle devices arranged to face the racks and a cleaning pump pumping the wash fluid contained the sump into the nozzle devices. Each of the nozzle devices has a number of nozzles through which wash fluid can be sprayed at high pressure.
The nozzles may easily get clogged with impurities during a dishwashing operation, as wash fluid is recycled in order to reduce the consumption of wash fluid, and recycled wash fluid is highly likely to contain impurities. However, once the nozzles are clogged, the performance of the dishwasher deteriorates. In addition, if impurities that clog the nozzles become rotten, an offensive odor may be emitted from the washing tub. Impurities contained in recycled wash fluid may be filtered out to some extent by providing a filter between the sump and the nozzle device. However, since the performance of the filter is limited, it is almost impossible to completely filter out impurities from wash fluid.
It may be difficult to determine whether the nozzles of a dishwasher are clogged, and thus, it is difficult to address the problems associated with clogged nozzles in a timely manner. In addition, in order to clean the nozzles, the dishwasher may need to be disassembled and then reassembled once the cleaning of the nozzles is complete. Thus, it is very difficult and time-consuming to clean the nozzles.